Cryptanalysis Books: Prerequisites for Beginners

[HRT-713]

Hey guys, I just bought the book Elementary Cryptanalysis: A Mathematical Approach by Abraham Sinkov, yet before I start it, I would like to know if there are any prerequisites I should know about as I am 16 and I still haven't even taken all of high school mathematics although I am self studying Serge Lang's book "Basic Mathematics" and I finished the algebra section in it and have almost finished the 2nd geometry section, I would really appreciate anything you guys have to say.

 

[YoungPhysicist]

I don't know how deep that book actually is but: I am 14 and I also has a basic understanding of cryptanalysis but without knowing any of the more-complicated math in it. Of course I don't mean that no basic math backgrounds is fine,cryptanalysis is a subjects completely based on math.I just meant that perhaps you should try understanding the concepts of cryptanalysis before worrying about if you can understand the math or not.

Since some of the most fundamental concepts in cryptanalysis requires no math background,like the part of alice,bob and eve, or intercepting messages.

 

[HRT-713]

I don't know how deep that book actually is but: I am 14 and I also has a basic understanding of cryptanalysis but without knowing any of the more-complicated math in it. Of course I don't mean that no basic math backgrounds is fine,cryptanalysis is a subjects completely based on math.I just meant that perhaps you should try understanding the concepts of cryptanalysis before worrying about if you can understand the math or not.

Since some of the most fundamental concepts in cryptanalysis requires no math background,like the part of alice,bob and eve, or intercepting messages.

I realized that before and actually before I bought this book I had read Cracking Codes with Python by Al Sweigart, and I understood the fundamentals behind it and I really liked it and that is why I wanted to go deeper.

btw if you know python, I would really recommend that you read that book, it will help you incorporate cryptography into your programs

 

[YoungPhysicist]

I realized that before and actually before I bought this book I had read Cracking Codes with Python by Al Sweigart, and I understood the fundamentals behind it and I really liked it and that is why I wanted to go deeper.

btw if you know python, I would really recommend that you read that book, it will help you incorporate cryptography into your programs

I am actually more of a C/C++ guy, not python. Good book/suggestion though.

 

[HRT-713]

I am actually more of a C/C++ guy, not python. Good book/suggestion though.

I love C because it's so clean and programming in it is really a relaxed and calm experience, yet although I use C++ for it's OOP features, it's syntax is absolutely disgusting, I would recommend you learn some dialect of lisp, in my opinion, it is the most beautiful language out of all of them(scheme is a good place to start).

 

[verty]

I love C because it's so clean and programming in it is really a relaxed and calm experience, yet although I use C++ for it's OOP features, it's syntax is absolutely disgusting, I would recommend you learn some dialect of lisp, in my opinion, it is the most beautiful language out of all of them(scheme is a good place to start).

Array languages are easier to use than list-based languages like Lisp. For this reason, almost every language nowadays has arrays and not many of them have lists built in. The C/C++ languages are the best array languages, IMHO (PHP is good too). So yeah, I don't see why you would want to dig up the past.

PS. Sorry for diverting the thread. Let's limit the responses to one for each of you and I won't respond again.

 

[Dragon27]

Studying lisp-like languages is a tremendous exercise in the discipline of computer programming and the subject of computer science. It allows you to see and explore the fundamental concept of abstraction in programming in its purest and cleanest form. You may never use these languages, but you will definitely make good use of the skills you've acquired from studying them.

 

[YoungPhysicist]

Just a notification: isn’t this be a thread about cryptanalysis? So perhaps you should edit the title to something like “lisp discussion” now.

 

[HRT-713]

Just a notification: isn’t this be a thread about cryptanalysis? So perhaps you should edit the title to something like “lisp discussion” now.

We pivoted a little about the subject but we're back on it.

 

[YoungPhysicist]

Oh yeah, I now see it. My bad.